Color, culture and beauty: in the post, all the tips on where to sleep, eat and what to visit in the splendid Fez, the pearl of Morocco. Fez is a place that will excite you very much by opening you to a culture different from ours.
Lately, when I come back from a trip, I realize that I stay for days in a kind of bubble. Nothing in my daily life seems to me to make more sense, I start thinking like "I don't want to stay here", "I want to lead a less imposed life, I want to do what I really love" and so on. Everything seems strange to me around me and I want to run away again. This also happened to me on my return from these few days in Morocco and more precisely a Fez.
Fez, Morocco: what to expect
So, I decided to immediately write this article, hoping to convey to you what I have felt and am feeling, all the beautiful emotions that have gone through me.
Being able to deal with other cultures, breaking down the prejudices and clichés that fill our lives, I think is the best gift a trip can give you.
A Riad in Fez
Looking at Booking, there are beautiful Riad in Fez, we chose to stay at the Riad Tahra & SPA and never was the choice more apt.
We organized transfers and tours through them (they have an agency Atlas Private Tour who organizes a lot of tours in Morocco) and everything was extremely perfect.
The Riad is very nice and the guys who work there are wonderful. You eat very well and you feel super pampered, therefore, I feel I can highly recommend it. It is located just 5 minutes walk from the famous Blue Gate.
Fez in 3 days
In my opinion, it only takes a few days to visit Fez.
Fez is one of the imperial cities, the largest and the oldest and is considered the religious, cultural and handicraft center of Morocco.
You will feel like you are in a different way, especially in the old city, where there is its famous Medina that will leave you speechless.
I'll give you a small summary of the things, in my opinion, to see.
1. The Medina (Fes el-Bali)
La Medina of Fez, declared UNESCO heritage, is the oldest of allAfrica.
It is a labyrinth, a tangle of thousands of alleys, where you will surely get lost; for this reason, to avoid unnecessary shocks, we decided to rely on a guide always booked through Atlas Private Tour, who organized us one 5-hour visit to the whole city.
The Medina is divided into zones according to the professions, in some areas there is a lot of chaos, especially in the food areas, where in the very narrow streets, donkeys continue to pass (which are today the most used means of transport) from which you will have to avoid because they do not stop and people holding any object in their hands, from the heaviest to the most bulky.
2. The Blue Gate (Bab Bou Jeloud)
Most likely, whether you are alone or whether you have entrusted yourself to a guide, this is the first point from which you will leave to visit the Medina. A little bit because the Blue Door it is very famous, partly because the two main streets of the Medina that will lead you to the heart of the old city.
One thing we didn't know is that the blue door actually also has another side which is green in color because green is the color of Islam, while blue is the color of Fez.
The ceramic tiles with which it is decorated with Arab and Andalusian motifs are truly wonderful.
The guide showed us that near the door there is another "door" that goes unnoticed; in reality it is the original door of the XNUMXst century.
3. Medersa Bou Inania
from Blue Door I saw some minarets and one of them is there Madrasa, the only one with a minaret in Fez. It's about a Koranic school, with paid access and even if you find yourself in a kind of "square" and it will seem that there is nothing, I found it beautiful for the wonderful decorations both in wood and in mosaic, all made entirely by hand.
4. Plaze Najjarine
This is the pizza that we find in front of the famous Wood Museum e of Crafts, really very beautiful with his Najjarine Fountain, a beautiful fountain, very impressive thanks to the crazy work of mosaics.
5. Moulay Idriss mausoleum mosque
Unfortunately access in this one Mosque, like almost all in Morocco, is reserved only for Muslims. It was a real shame as it is really very beautiful and is certainly one of the most important religious buildings in Fez. Idriss founded Fez and he governed it in the 800th century and is the patron saint of the city.
Fortunately the door is always open and from outside you can admire all its beauty. The area where the mosque stands is considered sacred.
6. Plaze Saffarine
Our guide indicated it to us as the "copper square”Because here, as in the past, artisans continue to work copper. The continuous noise of the artisans at work, although very loud, will not bother you, on the contrary, you will appreciate even more the charm of this town where time seems to have stopped.
7. Moscha University al-Qarawiyyin
It is of 'Oldest university in the world and has a very important peculiarity, namely that it was founded in 857 by a woman, Fatima Al Fihriya.
It is the reference point of Fez and, what do I tell you to do, it's gorgeous! Its decorations will leave you breathless.
8. Chouara tannery
I think everyone who paid a visit to Fez tanneries, they thought “I will never complain about my work again!”.
Being UNESCO heritage, this Tannery it must respect fundamental standards, such as using everything naturally. And this is how poor workers find themselves immersed in cow pee or pigeon poop; when we asked the guide how a job like this could be done, he replied "when you have 8 mouths to feed you don't think about anything else" and this sentence literally shut us up and led to many reflections.
In order to admire the tannery from the terrace, you will be provided with a sprig of mint because the smell is really strong. The glance is really strong, dozens of colored tanks with many people in and around that do not stop for a moment. The colors are created from natural dyes such as poppy, saffron, henna etc.
Once the tour is over, they will take you to the shop, where you will be spoiled for choice!
9. Royal palace
Unfortunately, being the residence of the King when he is in Fez, the beautiful Royal Palace it cannot be visited.
To reach it, you should take a taxi or, if like us you have a guide, paying a little more will take you there with a car.
Go there even if it is not open to visitors because the 7 golden doors they are really beautiful, a crazy job, really beautiful!
Right there is the Jewish quarter, you will feel like you are not in Fez because the architecture is totally different, with balconies open to the outside. Unfortunately there are no more Jews but, in any case, it is worth a walk.
10. Borj Nord
By car we reached this fortress built in 1582 which now houses an exhibition of weapons from the late nineteenth century in Fez.
But the strong point of this fortress is the view: it is truly beautiful and, above all, the noises of the chaotic Fez can only be heard in the distance, it is truly a place of peace.
It is worth a visit for the beautiful view, even if it is difficult to reach it on foot.
11. Art D'Argile
It is a beautiful Fez ceramic and mosaic workshop.
The guide was very kind, spoke Italian very well and we were able to witness both the processing of the clay and the processing of mosaics.
It is very interesting and not boring at all. The shop is wonderful, you will want to buy everything, even if, of course, we have noticed that the prices are higher than what you will find around.
I recommend it, but even here you can get there by car.
12. A trip to Chefchaouen
Despite being three hours away, from Fez there are a lot of trips to see the beautiful Chefchouen, la blue city. If you are in Fez, you can't not go there. And in three days we were able to visit her too.
Thanks always to our hotel with its agency Atlas Private Tour, given the short time, we decided to go to Chefchouen with private car and driver. We were very lucky because our driver Said he was really very good, excellent driver, nice, very kind, in short, it was a very pleasant journey.
Chefchouen It is in the Northern Morocco surrounded by mountains Rif and was founded in 1471.
As to why it is blue there is no confirmed explanation but many theories, the most "popular" is that blue is the traditional color of the Andalusians who founded it at the end of the 400th century.
I advise you to get lost in its streets, so rest assured that unlike Fez, you won't get lost, every time you will always find yourself in the main square Uta El-Hammam Square, colorful, lively with the Great Mosque, the view of the mountains and lots of beautiful venues.
We stopped by for lunch Hamsa, a little place with a wonderful terrace and lots of good things to eat.
In addition to the color you will be fascinated by Zellige, the typical Moroccan tiles that fill Chefchouen and create a crazy eye-catcher.
Here the Andalusian influence is very strong, even in some details of the houses, on the street names and on the fact that Spanish is the second language spoken.
In short, I recommend you take a few days and go and visit this beautiful part of Morocco.
I assure you that you will not regret it.
